Rentier state - Definition

A rentier (prounounced rän'tyā) is an individual who depends on income derived from rents. In economic terms, rent is the income derived from the gift of nature. A rentier state is a state that derives all or a substantial portion of its revenue from natural resources, such as petroleum. The economic and political developments of such states appears to be retarded. In non-rentier states, GDP per capita is highly predictive of most statistics of development, such as literacy, but appears almost unrelated in rentier states. Political scientist Fareed Zakaria has posited that such states fail to develop politically because natural resources provide government revenues instead of taxes. While taxpaying citizens usually place pressure on the government to become responsive to their needs, a government in a rentier state experiences no such pressure. Instead, the government essentially 'bribes' the citizenry with extensive social welfare programs. Therefore, the requisites for the development of a middle-class, such as property rights and just and equitable law are never able to form.